By: Taylor Hill & Dylan Philpott

Teaching a new course can be exciting and nerve-wracking for teachers, but what about the students?

Not only is it your first day of class, but it is also the first day of ever teaching that class for the teacher. 

This year, teachers who previously taught on-level courses have been moved to teaching advanced placement.

Most of the new teachers teach the same subject, just not with the AP curriculum. Angela Wagner teaches AP United States History, also known as APUSH, and Matthew Cribbs teaches AP Government.

The AP classes are not completely different from regular classes. Both of the classes teach the same concept based on the subject. However, AP classes are faster and more advanced than a normal or honors class. 

“The AP United States History course is designed to provide the same level content, higher-level thinking, and instruction that would take place in an introductory level U.S. History college class. The curriculum follows National Standards set forth by the College Board,” Wagner said. 

The teachers are excited to teach AP courses because they get to dig deeper into the subjects they love but they also get to push their students harder and help them have a deeper understanding.

 “I enjoy teaching APUSH. There is new content that is not covered in general American History and at a more elaborate level. Teaching APUSH allows me to work with my students on not just mastering subject material but helping them broaden and expand their higher-level thinking skills, analyze history, develop broader historical contextualization skills,” Wagner said. 

Other teachers make it feel more like a college class.

“I most certainly make it harder, in order to prepare them, not only for college but the real world as well,” Cribbs said.